McCabe column: Library board, staff grateful for contributions

Ron McCabe

Another year of community service is coming to an end here at McMillan Library. On behalf of the board of trustees and staff members, I want to thank everyone who supported the library during the past year through your contributions and your use of library services.

We live in a wonderful place where people value education and work together to help everyone succeed. The library board and staff members are proud to be part of this great community.

We are deeply appreciative of the tax support from the city of Wisconsin Rapids and the Wood County Board of Supervisors. We are also thankful for the help of the Wisconsin Rapids Engineering Department and Public Works Department this year in resurfacing the library's auxiliary parking lot and repairing the sidewalk around the library. We cannot thank them enough for their hard work and support.

We are also thankful for grants and gifts we received from the Mead Witter Foundation, Charles and JoAnn Lester and the WoodTrust-Bell Foundation, as well as the many gifts from other library supporters.

Remodeling the Youth Services Department this year, for example, was made possible thanks to $360,000 donated to the library through smaller gifts and through major contributions of $75,000 from the WoodTrust-Bell Foundation and $22,500 from the Mead Witter Foundation.

The Mead Witter Foundation also provided $27,000 for the library's concert series this year and has given the library $27,800 for the 2014 series. Charles and JoAnn Lester provided $6,200 for the 2013 concerts. Heid Music provided pianos for library concerts, free of charge, as they have for many years. Free Internet access was provided in 2013 by Solarus and by Charter Communications as they have since the beginning of Internet service at the library.

At this time of year, we remind everyone that one of the best gifts you can give a young person is a library card. Unlike so many gifts, there is no charge for this one. Library service is a gift of lifelong learning that our community has given to citizens here since 1890 when the library was founded. The value of this gift has never been higher in terms of both the volume and the quality of the services provided.

We invite you to take a break this holiday season by visiting the McMillan Coffeehouse. The library serves bold, regular and decaffeinated coffees from Madison's award-winning Ancora Coffee Roasters. The Coffeehouse is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Stop by the library to experience the taste of Madison's best coffeehouses.

We encourage everyone to make the best use of our services in the coming year. Job seekers and those who need to improve their computer skills will find library resources especially valuable. If you are not already using the library, make a New Year's resolution to visit us soon or learn about our services at the library's web site www.mcmillanlibrary.org. You will be glad you did.

Happy New Year!

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McCabe column: Library board, staff grateful for contributions

Another year of community service is coming to an end here at McMillan Library.

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